FIREBALL schoolboy Daniel Sinnitt is out of intensive care, but his pal is still fighting for life today.

Lying in a hospital bed, his bandages protect his legs after a prank went horrifically wrong.

Daniel was with Lewis Nicholson when the pair decided to play with fire.

They had set a remote control car alight which exploded in their faces and turned them both into fireballs.

Today Daniel’s mother and father, Lisa and Andrew, are by their son’s hospital bedside.

“He is lucky to be alive,” said Lisa, 32. “He is all bandaged up and I can’t even give him a big cuddle because he’s in too much pain.”

Daniel, 12, and 10-year-old Lewis were playing with the car which they poured petrol on, sparking the blast. Both boys were taken to Newcastle General Hospital’s intensive care unit and are still waiting to hear if they need skin grafts.

Daniel is now off the critical list and has been transferred to the burns unit at the RVI. He suffered burns to his legs, face and hands, while Lewis suffered injuries to his face, neck and throat.

Lisa, of Woolsington Road, North Shields, said: “Daniel’s trousers caught fire and his legs are burned. The bandages go right to the top of his legs.

“He’s been on morphine for the pain and he’s very quiet.

“I feel very helpless at the moment because I can’t do much for him.

“The bandages have to be on for 48 hours and then the doctors take them off to see how his legs are doing.”

Dad Andrew, 39, added: “It was a prank that went horribly wrong – lessons will be learned.”

It happened at 9pm on Thursday at the back of Lewis’s house in Garrick Close, North Shields, when the lads, both pupils at the town’s Norham Community Technical College, were messing around.

Courtney Errington, 10, also of Garrick Close, was playing with the two at the time of the explosion. She said: “The flames jumped up and they went on Lewis’s hands and face. The skin just peeled off his forehead.

“Daniel’s trousers were on fire and his skin was coming off his legs.

“I shouted and my mam came out. Lewis’s sister also came and threw a pan of water on him. It was horrible.”

Courtney’s mother Alison, 40, a mother-of-two, also ran to help and stamped on the flames coming from his trousers.

Lewis’s mother was too upset to speak today.

The police, ambulance and fire brigade were all called to the scene. Watch manager Michael Ainslie based at Tynemouth Station put out a warning to youngsters.

He said: “We can’t stress the point enough the danger of playing with fire.

“We would also discourage parents from storing flammable liquids in their garages and sheds.”